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SUBIC
BAY FREEPORT—Exports by business locators in this free
port rose to $416 million in the first six months of the
year, buoyed by consistent production of electronics and
precision equipment, and the delivery of the first
Subic-made container vessel.
The
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said Subic’s
overall exports for the first half increased by $1.5
million over the January-June total of last year, even
as the month-on-month comparative figures grew for only
three months.
This
meant that the delivery by Korean shipbuilder Hanjin
Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines of its first
container ship, the 41,000-ton MV Argolikos, probably
saved Subic from recording a negative variance in the
said period.
According to SBMA records, Wistron Infocomm Phils.
consistently surged as the leading exporter here since
January, until it was upstaged in June by Hanjin Heavy
with its $59.5-million ship export.
Export
of the Argolikos was apparently entered in the books
last month after the vessel passed its sea trials,
although it was formally named only on July 4.
Still,
Wistron, delivered the biggest freight on board (FOB)
value here with total exports of $142 million, or more
than 34 percent of the total.
The
Taiwanese computer manufacturer persisted with an
average of $23.7 million worth of monthly exports,
despite a global slowdown that saw Philippine
electronics exports falling down by 3.8 percent in the
first five months.
Hanjin
Heavy, with less than 15 percent of the aggregate
exports for the first half, was a distant second,
although it delivered more than half of the
$107.3-million total in June.
Also on
the list of Subic’s top 10 export producers in
January-June were three Taiwanese manufacturers, four
Japanese electronics companies, and a Hong Kong firm
trading in mobile phones and accessories.
These
are the Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics Phils. Corp.
(Taiwan), with $41.9 million; Sanyo Denki Phils.
(Japan), $38.4 million; Lets Do Mobile Phils. (Hong
Kong), $20.4 million; Juken Sangyo Corp. (Japan), $17.2
million; Tong Lung Metals Inc. (Taiwan), $11.9 million;
Hitachi Air Conditioning Products Inc. (Taiwan), $10.6
million; Nidec Subic Phils. (Japan), $8.3 million; and
Nicera Philippines Inc. (Japan), with $7.4 million.
Almost
88 percent of the FOB value for the first half were
contributed by the top 10 exporters, the SBMA said.
Meanwhile, SBMA records also showed that business
locators here imported in the first half of the year a
total of $1.1-billion products, 27.7 percent more than
the $854.2 million recorded in January-June 2007.
The 10
heaviest importers were led by PTT Philippines Trading
Corp., with total imports of oil and petroleum-based
products worth $278.4 million.
Shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy and its sister firm Hanjin
Heavy Industries & Construction Co., which develops the
facilities at its Redondo Peninsula shipyard here, came
in second and third, respectively, with imports of
$169.5 million and $119.1 million.
The rest
of the list was composed of Lets Do Mobile, with imports
of $111.4 million; Wistron, with $101.5 million;
Tri-Solid Movers Services Inc., which also deals in oil
and petroleum products, with $38.5 million; Sanyo Denki,
$21.3 million; Hitachi Terminals, $20.7 million;
Honeywell Ceasa (Subic Bay) Co. Inc., $16.5 million; and
Juken Sangyo, $12.9 million.
The top
10 importers here also hogged the bulk of imports here,
with about 82 percent of the total, the SBMA said.
At the
same time, the SBMA Seaport Department reported that
port revenues in January-June had surpassed 2008 targets
by 2.26 percent.
Seaport
revenues here, which were derived mainly from charges to
calling vessels, including wharfage and storage fees,
totaled P114.5 million in the first half. This
represented a growth of 10.9 percent over the
P103.2-million port collections posted in the same
period last year, the SBMA said. |
